Call me Sonic
by Tamahashi
Summary: A conversation with Tails brings back memories for Sonic.


Call me Sonic

07-07-01 

Tamahashi

It was a quiet day. It always seemed rare to have such a quiet day. Normally when Sonic awoke to find the new day already waiting for him, he new that he'd best hold on to everything he knew and held dear, because all of it might (and at times, it did) simply vanish. Or change so dramatically that they were unrecognizable. But no, none of that today, he told himself. With the flickies chirping so softly in the distance, he wondered to himself if even the Eggman himself, Dr. Robotnik would dare to something to ruin the quiet peace.

As the wind blew a group of leaves to their new destination (or is that destiny?), Tails flew over to Sonic. His two tails were gently swishing in the early morning air. Tails had been Sonic's companion and best friend for such a long time it'd seemed like they'd been side by side since the very beginning of the war against Robotnik. As Tails landed next to Sonic, it was rather obvious that he was holding something, a present.

"Here, Sonic. I made you a little something. Go ahead! Open it!" Tails pleaded enthusiastically.

Sonic ripped up the paper covering the box shaped object, and threw the lid off of its container. He picked it up gently, flipping it around in his hands. It was small and metallic, sort of spherical, but one question remained the hedgehog's mind.

"Umm…. What exactly does it do?" Sonic asked innocently.

"Well," Tails started thoughtfully, "You know back in the days when you'd use those Blue Force Shields we found in damaged robot parts to protect yourself from an unseen attack? Well, we haven't seen much of those recently, but I believe that shield was actually a by-product of power radiation from the Magic Rings. So, if you place this on the inside of one of your shoes, after collecting a few rings, you should automatically create a shield. Nifty, huh?"

Sonic laughed. "Looks like it's gonna take even more to do me in now, lil' buddy!"

That comment threw Tails off a little bit. Sonic tilted his head slightly, oblivious to any possible reason Tails' nickname would invoke such an emotion. _Perhaps Tails is like, growing up and he'd prefer I should call him something else?_ Before Sonic could think of a suiting substitute nickname, Tails wearily began to speak.

"Oh, Sorry about that response, but…Last night I had a nightmare about my parents being trapped and roboticized and it dawned on me, that I've never really met them…Have you ever met your folks Sonic?"

_Streaking home from playing out in the woods, the young Sammy zoom about the town, as people pointed at him and cursed. It didn't bother him, of course. Nothing was going to ruin this day! He'd been collecting Rings for a year but today it finally paid off! His feet flying, barely touching the ground, he finally made it to the general store. He quietly opened up the door. He sneaked in, tiptoeing. Then the storekeeper Dren the Moose spotted him._

"What are you doing here, Sammy the Rascal? I don't want part of your family nor you! Now get outta here! Get! Get!" Dren barked as he slammed his hand into the store counter he was musing behind.

Sonic quickly looked over to the north wall in the room. There were several posters and flyers plastered about in a very messy fashion. Some of them were colorful advertisements for the latest trend, or maybe for the most hyped up toy at the time. But amidst all of the fun and excitement, two torn posters were posted in.

The first one had the image of a shifty brown hedgehog, dressed in a few assorted rags while a devilish grin danced along his face. Underneath the image it read: THOMAS "RAGE" THE HEDGEHOG-NATORRIOUS MURDERER AND HIGH TIME THEIF! THIS BANDIT IS BELIEVED TO BE INVOLVED IN OVER 200 UNSOLVED ROBBERIES/MURDERS! TEN MILLION GOLD TO WHOMEVER CAN CAPTURE THIS FURRIE-DEAD OR ALIVE!

And next to it, there was an equally tattered one poster. It showed a brown female hedgehog that was little more than skin and bones with jagged teeth: LUSHEA "BLIZZARD" THE HEDGEHOG-KNOWN TO NOT BE A HARDCORE KLEPTOMANIAC THAT WILL STOP AT NO COSTS TO ENSURE THE ITEM IS STOLEN. FIVE MILLION GOLD TO WHOEVER CAN CAPTURE HER ALIVE!

"Yeah, I got the chance to meet them. Two completely respectable hedgehogs but of course couldn't run near as fast as me."

Tails laughed softly. "You know, I've always looked up to you like a big brother, or a fatherly figure or something…"

_"Wait Dren! Take a look at this!" Sammy cried._

He pulled a box out from a pocket in his ripped backpack. He opened it and the contents magically jumped out from their contained space. Fifty Majestically golden rings began to rotate in the air, as if floating were a natural part of life. Dren took a breath and his eyes widened as he saw those items, and quickly pondered the profit he could get from such a haul.

"Sir, if you don't mind, I'd like 20 Gold for this. That's, not too much is it?" Sammy asked nervously, trying to hide his fear.

Dren looked taken back, but finally managed to bark. "Oh, most definitely! Why, I wouldn't pay a Silver more myself!" Dren quickly bent beneath the counter and rummaged through the boxes where all of the gold was kept. He popped back up with a wide smile as he handed the young boy the gold coins.

He chuckled to himself. 'I can't believe my luck! That lot o' rings was worth at least a million G's! Rings are rarer than triple headed otters here!' he thought to himself.

Sonic stood looking at his hand of coins, slowly (But surely!) counting them. Then he looked up and pointed to an object on the upper shelf. "I'd like to buy those goggles. I've got enough now."  
Dren was taken back. 'Now he's going to purchase something and I won't have lost the dime in the transaction!'

He scrambled over and took it down for the small lad. "Here ya go, Sammy you ol' rascal! Now you enjoy yourself and come back if you ever find more rings, hmmm?"  
Sammy managed to breathe quickly "thanks!" and "Certainly!" And then he took off. Zooming and darting around animals and various landmarks, Sammy finally made it to where it was he had called home for years: The Kintobor Orphanage. The Kindly Kintobor was a very intelligent man with a very large heart, but unfortunately, he was also a tad eccentric. Always working on one gadget or the next, and many loathed him for that strangeness. 

Sammy ran into the main room. There he spotted his best friends in the whole world-Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Squirrel. He ran up to them and showed them the contents of his hands. The other two wondered what it was at first, but then they realized-

"New Goggles for Kintobor!" Ray and Mighty shouted in unison.

"Yup. Remember all those days that I'd go for "a quick spin around the forest?" Well, I was actually searching for those magical golden rings Dren loves so much. I had collect fifty, and it was just enough! I can't wait to give it to him-" Sammy didn't quite finish the sentence, when he burst into the living room.

"Kintobor, Kintobor!" Sammy shouted, waving his arms.

The large man turned around and smiled at the sight of the exuberant youth, although a little puzzled at what had riled him up so. He walked over to Sammy through the beaten up house.

"Kintobor! I got you a present! Quick Quick Quick!" Sammy squealed.

Kintobor saw the goggles and quickly snatched them. He held them up to flickering light examining them, and then he let out a jolly old laugh. He took off his old goggles that must have had more scratches than Mighty after a scuffle. He threw the old ones in the trash ("Not much use for them now, Eh?") and quickly replaced them with Sammy's gift.

"AAAAAH!" Kintobor screeched.

Sammy, struck with horror cried, "What's wrong?"  
Kintobor grinned and said, "Why, I can actually see for a change!" 

Sammy smiled warmly. "You know, all the only times I've seen my parents are on those wanted posters…I've always looked up to you like I would a father…"

Tails' tails now began to dance about thoughtfully. "You're gifted with all the good stuff, Sonic. I've always wondered what it would be like to have a family, and you know, do normal stuff with. Sit down and eat a meal, collaborate in family events…"  
_Kintobor gestured to the door to his lab. "And my furry little friend, I have something just wonderful to show you. Right this way."_

A short walk later they were in Kintobor's lab. There were beakers of various liquids, sparks flying here and there, but Sammy noticed something different about the lab this time. There was a large machine, and inside of some sort of glass chamber were seven sparkling stones.

"Sammy, have you ever heard of the story of Pandora's box?"  
Sammy shook his head.

Kintobor went on enthusiastically, "Well, basically this panda girl named Pandora got a gift from some strange spirit. The spirit told her that she could not open this box at all costs. Curiosity killed the cat (He reassured Sammy that this was just an expression.) and Pandora opened the box. WOOOOSH! All the evil of the world flew out- greed, jealousy, hatred, you name it! But at the very bottom, there was something glimmering…The light of hope!"

Sammy still wasn't sure why Kintobor was telling him this. "Is that true?"  
Kintobor tilted his head, "Well, not exactly like that, but yes, in a different way, perhaps a different time. But I have found something. I believe I can put all the evils back into the box and then shut it quickly!"

Sammy smiled. "You're gonna save the world?"   
Kintobor laughed. "I guess you could say that. I plan on storing the evil in these Seven Chaos Emeralds. I have been working on theories on how to get this to work for ages, but I finally stumbled onto the answer. You see, Evil is a state of mind, not a physical substance. (Sammy looked dazed here, so Kintobor realized he had to explain it a different way.) Think of it like fish-You can have three fish, you can have four fish, you can give one fish away, manipulate it anyway you want it, but what about Joy? Can you have one joy, trade it for another, accidentally lose a joy, like you would a fish?"

Sammy began to understand. "Of course not, silly!"  
Kintobor nodded. "And silly it is! But, these chaos emeralds, they can change the rules as if the laws of the universe were written on a chalkboard! So I'm going to use these emeralds to make Evil like fish, and them I'm going to trap evil in the emeralds forever!"  
Sammy cried out joyfully and began to dance. Kintobor couldn't resist and the two danced until Ray and Mighty were worried.

"…Through all the joys, all the fun days and quiet nights beneath the stars, and of course, through all the crises…"

_Hours later, Sonic, Mighty, and Ray were playing their favorite game, Adventure! Currently they were playing on the creaky stairs, but in reality were searching the Red Mountains for secret buried treasure. However, the whole house began to shake and a loud rumbling noise broke the sounds of fun. Then a huge crashed made all of the children run down to Kintobor's lab to make sure the old man hadn't turned himself another funny color._

"And you know what Sonic? I think a lot about maybe why they abandoned me, but I know it in my heart that if I were to meet them again, I'd simply run up to them, give them a hug, and call out 'all is forgiven!'"

_Sammy, Mighty, Ray and all the other children thundered down the stairs. There was a great fire, but Geren the alligator managed to wrestle the fire extinguisher from its case and flushed it out quickly. There they saw Kintobor lying on the floor, next to the strange machine Kintobor had secretly shown Sammy. The glass was now mere shards scattered about. But the seven emeralds began to glow, and then they each flew off in a different direction, destroying the walls in their paths. _

He got up groggily, with Geren and Mighty helping him up. He got up and looked around in horror at his lab, which lay in ruins. He put his hands to his face and screamed, then fell to the floor crying. He then got up and simply said that he did not want to talk about what happened.

The hours slipped by and the new day had come. Kintobor walked out of his room and sternly told Sammy, Mighty, Ray, and Geren to come to his room. The four boys were expecting a horrible beating, but instead they found a strange capsule like machine that most definitely wasn't in there the night prior.

Kintobor spoke up. "I've made the most wonderful machine on the earth! It'll make you stronger, faster, everything! It's going to revolutionize the world! Now, before we go on, I've decided upon a new name to better suit this new ear of my creations-Please, call me Robotnik. Who wants to go first?" 

Geren jumped up eagerly, waving his hand. Robotnik nodded and led Geren to the capsule, opened the door and told him to wait there. He scampered over to a small console of machinery next to it and began to press some buttons. With a whirring noise and a clicking noise, the capsule was filled with a green light, and all sorts of lights lit up around it. Then Geren began to cry, and to the three boy's horror, Geren's fur began to be replaced with something else- something hard, cold and metallic. Then the light faded and the capsule emitted a few puffs of smoke and Geren stepped out.

"Geren…? Are you okay?" Ray said as he cautiously walked up to his buddy.

Geren slammed Ray down onto the floor, and Ray screamed out in surprise.

Sammy turned around and ran to Robotnik. "Something's gone-he's not faster or stronger or smarter and his teeth aren't even shinier! You gotta reverse that, it went all wrong!

"I'm afraid those were exactly the results I were looking for. You next, Samuel Hedgehog."

Sammy shook his head furiously and screamed "NO! I WON'T! I DON'T WANT TO BE MADE OF METAL!" 

Robotnik stepped forward and grabbed the boy and shook him. "You'll DO as I SAY when I SAY IT! I SAID get in THE CAPSULE!" 

He threw Sammy across the room, as he thudded into the wall. He couldn't hold back the tears welling up in his eyes, he hadn't been called Samuel in years, and the kindly old man had never even raised his voice the slightest Why, Why was he suddenly acting so EVIL? But then it struck Sammy-The machine he was working on, Evil and fish, the explosion, the capsule, the new name…

"Your machine backfired, didn't it? The…The evil…. Didn't go into the chaos emeralds…It…."

"WENT INTO ME! I ABSORBED THE EVIL! I! ME! NOW GET IN THE CAPSULE OR ELSE I'LL SIMPLY BEAT YOU HARDER!"

Sammy shook his head, and he ran out the room, dragging Ray and Mighty with him, they ran out the front door, and stood still.

"Ray, Mighty! We have to go! Robotnik…Is very sick! He'd gone crazy!"

"That", Mighty managed to utter, "Is an under-stalemate!"  
"Statement." Ray corrected.

From a hatch on the roof, Robotnik emerged, keeping his balance and walking to the highest peak of the house. There he stood, he tilted his head to the sky, raised his arms and boomed out to the Podunk town below: " I AM DR. IVO ROBOTNIK, AND I CLAIM THIS AREA TO BE DEMOLISHED IN FAVOR OF THE SCRAP BRAIN! THE SCRAP BRAIN WILL BE THE START OF THE EMPIRE THAT WILL EVENTUALLY ENVELOPE THE ENTIRE WORLD!" Robotnik then collapsed laughing a sickening, harsh, laugh.

Ray turned to Sammy, panic rising in his system, "Sammy, what do we do!?"

"Don't…Call me Sammy….** EVER…again.** Call me Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog. We've got to go now." So Sonic, Mighty, and Ray took off into the afternoon sky, running far, far away from the dreaded place they had once called home.

"…Ah, what a wonderful life it would be. But I'm glad I've got you, Sonic. I think you're the best friend anyone could ask for!"

Sonic, shrugging off his feelings, Held Tails up high. "Tails, I'm never going to let you down. I promise. What do you say we go get something to munch on?"

Tails laughed. "Alright Sonic, let's go!"


End file.
